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You don’t have to join the hack-back program to inherit its risk

A new US presidential memorandum creates a vetted private hack-back program, leaving participating vendors and their customers with untested legal liability and collateral risks.

The August 12 National Security Presidential Memorandum directs the National Coordination Center, run jointly by DOJ and DHS, to approve covert surveillance and disruptive Cyber Effects Operations by vetted private companies, with a forfeitable bond of at least $1 million required as a contract condition. The analysis argues the criminal shield rests on an untested reading of the CFAA exemption at 18 U.S.C. 1030(f), with no civil safe harbor, no state-law preemption and no foreign-law protection. Non-participating organizations can still inherit risk through shared infrastructure collateral damage, lack of customer disclosure, Lloyd's bulletin Y5381 state-backed attack exclusions, and threat-intelligence pipelines feeding offensive proposals.

CSO Online · 18h agoPolicy & legal

In most cities, nobody owns the whole network

Former Waco CIO argues cellular-connected water controllers sit outside scanned networks, and accountability plus operating-budget funding—not technology—block segmentation.

Writing as Waco, Texas's former CIO, the author describes July water-sector intrusions that CISA linked to over 100 compromised systems, typically controllers on public cellular links absent from asset lists. The FBI and EPA reported incidents at utilities in at least seven states since July 27, and a Clayton County, Georgia pump station failure triggered a boil-water advisory. He argues accountability and funding—using mechanisms like the Texas Water Development Board's new cybersecurity scoring criteria—are the binding constraints, citing Waco's 43-day segmentation of five treatment plants with operating funds.

CyberScoop · 8d agoIndustry in the wild

Srsly Risky Biz: Trump's Private Hacker Memo Is the Right Idea

A Trump presidential memo directs DHS to authorize vetted private-sector hackers to conduct cyber operations against foreign cybercriminal groups (CE-TCOs).

A presidential memorandum directs the Department of Homeland Security to establish a program authorizing private companies to conduct cyber surveillance and cyber effects operations against Cyber-Enabled Transnational Crime Organisations (CE-TCOs). Participating companies must pass vetting, obtain government approval before operations, and post a USD $1 million bond. The accompanying fact sheet cites more than USD $20.8 billion in US losses to cyber-enabled crime in 2025. Critics worry about accidental escalation if operations touch foreign government systems.

Risky Business News · 27d agoPolicy & legal1

Who gets to define the rules for AI?

Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez attacks big-lab antitrust exemption proposals as cartel behavior that lets incumbents write AI safety rules.

Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez argues that proposals from large AI labs—particularly Anthropic's roadmap requesting antitrust exemptions for safety coordination—amount to a cartel letting incumbents define rules for everyone else. He draws parallels to the 1975 SEC NRSRO credit-rating designations and the EU's 1985 Motor Vehicle Block Exemption, where safety justifications produced incumbent-protecting market structures. Gomez supports independent review of highly capable AI systems but disputes who writes the standards, who conducts review, and who participates. He also warns AI cyber offense is getting cheaper faster than defenses are improving.

Hacker News · AI · 2d agoAI policyHN 41↑ · 29 comments

First ‘Take It Down Act’ Sentencing Puts Man Behind Bars for 15 Years

Ohio man James Strahler gets the first US Take It Down Act sentence: 15 years for distributing real and AI-generated abuse imagery.

James Strahler, 38, became the first person convicted under the Take It Down Act, receiving a 15-year federal prison sentence after investigators found more than 3,000 real and AI-generated abuse images across his devices, including over 700 he posted online. He pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, producing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse, and publication of digital forgeries after victims received threats, extortion demands, and AI-fabricated explicit images; the FBI took over the case in June. The federal law, which took effect in May, criminalizes knowingly publishing or threatening to publish nonconsensual intimate imagery, and free-speech advocates have criticized its 48-hour platform removal window as a censorship risk.

404 Media · 7d agoPolicy & legal

Authors push back as publishers and agents make claims on Anthropic settlement

Authors report publishers and agents wrongly claiming shares of Anthropic's $1.5 billion copyright settlement, which pays $3,000 per pirated work across roughly 500,000 titles.

Anthropic's $1.5 billion copyright settlement, given final approval in July, pays $3,000 per pirated work for nearly 500,000 titles, split 50-50 with publishers for in-print books. Authors including April Henry report publishers claiming payments for works whose rights reverted years ago, and some agents claiming percentages despite not being rightsholders. Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger attributes the disputes to poor recordkeeping rather than deliberate overreach. Full author claims require rights reversion before the settlement's August 10, 2022 download date.

TechCrunch · AI · 10d agoAI industry

US Authorizes Private Cyber Firms to Hack Transnational Criminal Networks

Trump signed a national security memorandum letting vetted private US cybersecurity firms run government-approved offensive cyber operations against transnational criminal organizations.

The August 13 memorandum creates a program managed by the National Coordination Center covering Cyber Surveillance Operations and Cyber Effects Operations against Cyber-Enabled Transnational Criminal Organizations, explicitly excluding entities that are parts of foreign governments. DOJ and DHS executive directors must co-approve every operation in writing, with extra authorization for operations raising laws-of-armed-conflict questions. Participating firms must pass vetting, annual evaluations and hold a $1 million bond or escrow. Operating procedures are due within 60 days, and the unresolved CFAA exemption question is addressed by requiring direct government control.

Security Affairs · Aug 14, 2026Policy & legal

White House authorizes private US companies to hack foreign criminal networks

Trump memorandum authorizes vetted private US companies to conduct government-supervised offensive cyber operations against foreign criminal networks.

The National Security Presidential Memorandum signed August 12 lets vetted private companies run offensive cyber operations against transnational criminal organizations behind ransomware, phishing and sextortion, under US government oversight. The Homeland Security Task Force's National Coordination Center, led by DOJ and DHS executive directors, must give written approval for both Cyber Surveillance Operations and Cyber Effects Operations. Participating companies must post a $1 million bond or escrow, undergo annual review, and notify authorities if they unintentionally target US persons or systems.

Help Net Security · Aug 13, 2026Policy & legal